Experimental observation of two massless Dirac-fermion gases in graphene-topological insulator heterostructure

Abstract

Graphene and topological insulators (TI) possess two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions with distinct physical properties. Integrating these two Dirac materials in a single device creates interesting opportunities for exploring new physics of interacting massless Dirac fermions. Here we report on a practical route to experimental fabrication of graphene-Sb2Te3heterostructure. The graphene-TI heterostructures are prepared by using a dry transfer of chemical-vapor-deposition grown graphene film. ARPES measurements confirm the coexistence of topological surface states of Sb2Te3and Dirac 7rbands of graphene, and identify the twist angle in the graphene-TI heterostructure. The results suggest a potential tunable electronic platform in which two different Dirac low-energy states dominate the transport behavior.